Summer Lawn Care Guide

lawn careSpring lawn care is all about keeping your lawn green and healthy. Summer lawn care is all about keeping it healthy during high temperatures and infrequent rainfall. It is also about keeping your lawn healthy and able to withstand the many activities that summer brings, such as running, playing, and eating out. These are some ways to keep your lawn looking great during the long, hot summer days.

Lawn Care Guide: Summer Lawns

Lawn grasses are subject to a lot of stress after the spring growth season. The heat and drought can be very damaging to lawn grasses. We are also not as patient in summer as we were in winter. Our lawns should be lush green and healthy for outdoor activities. We try to combat nature by fertilizing, watering, and encouraging new growth no matter the weather. You can care for your lawn gently by learning and understanding the seasonal changes in turf grasses.

Cool-season grasses like bluegrass, fescue and rye thrive if the temperature is in the 60s F.

Warmer season grasses, including Bermuda, St. Augustine and Centipede (all part of the warm-season grasses) love temperatures in the 70s.

Lawns will start to struggle when temperatures rise into the 80s. Cool-season grasses have the most difficulty. As they are less capable of recovering from traffic stress and growth, lawns may experience a slowing in growth and color fade. Cool-season lawns can even go dormant during the summer and become brown and brittle by early fall.

Water Properly

A lawn needs at least 1 inch of water each week. Lawns may need more if it is extremely hot. To keep track of how much water is being received from rain and irrigation, use a rain gauge.

To encourage drought-tolerant roots, water deeply and less often.

Water the lawn early in the morning to prevent evaporation and fungal growth.

You can either water your lawn frequently and deeply or you don’t need to water it at all. Do not let your lawn become brown or dormant. Instead, “water it back into life.” Your lawn should remain dormant from summer to fall. Don’t worry, it will recover when the weather turns.

Mowing tips

In the summer, there’s one mowing tip you should remember. Raise your mower blade. Higher grass is more resilient to drought, has deeper roots and shades the earth, which helps prevent weed seeds from germinating. Cool-season grasses should mowed at 3-4 inches in the summer or as high as you can get your blade to go. Warm-season grasses should mowed at 2-3 inches.

Mulching grass clippings keeps moisture levels stable.

Keep your grass cut to 1/3 of its original length. This will keep your grass healthy and prevent the clippings smothering it.

Keep mower blades sharp. To reduce stress in hot weather, make sure that your mower cuts your grass and not tears it.

Don’t Over Fertilize

Avoid fertilizing your lawn if it is looking unruly in the middle of summer. It’s better to stop fertilizing 30 days before the summer heat hits your area. Extra fertilizer applied in summer heat can cause lawn to become brittle and burn. Do not fertilize lawns that are still dormant. Wait until the autumn to fertilize them.

High-Traffic Areas

Many lawns start to show signs of wear by the end of summer, particularly along some popular paths. To minimize grass damage, consider installing stepping stones. Also, try to limit traffic to brittle or dormant lawns. To help your lawn recover quicker, apply some fertilizer to areas that are receiving a lot of rain and active growth.

Control Weeds

This is the best time for an important routine for lawn care in Carolina Forest. Remove weeds that are growing and spread seed for next year. The targeted post-emergent herbicides can be used to kill broadleaf grass weeds but must be used when temperatures are below 85° F for a few more days. Remember that any product can cause damage to lawn grasses in the summer heat.

Insects & Diseases

Insect infestations can occur in summer lawns that are not being used or are under drought stress. While minor infestations can be treated easily, more serious problems will require treatment from pest control experts.

Fungal diseases such as brown patches and powdery mildew can also be a problem in summer. To keep nighttime moisture to a minimum, apply fungicide as needed.

Over the summer, grubs will start to hatch on your lawn. You can apply grub control to your lawn if grubs are a problem.

Call Conner’s Lawn Care Service now if you need help in taking care of your lawn.

Conner’s Lawn Care Service
Myrtle Beach, SC
843-504-4901
http://connerslawncare.com/

Lawn Care Myrtle Beach Tips For The Summer Months

lawn care myrtle beachLawn care Myrtle Beach remains to be essential during the summer months. Your to-do list includes fertilizing, weed control, disease and pest control, and damage repair.

You should take all opportunities in great conditions to boost the health of your lawn through recommended lawn care practices including seeding, weed control, aeration, and fertilization.

Lawn Care Myrtle Beach Tips During The Warmer Months

Mow the lawn

Regular mowing is an important lawn care routine if you want to have a great lawn. With the temperature and a bit of moisture during this season, growth must be at its best so mowing the lawn regularly would produce a turf that’s dense. When you say regular, it means mowing at least once a week.

If the conditions are or have already become dry then the growth of the lawn will be slow but you should need to move, this time every 10 to 14 days in order to control the seed heads and the coarse grasses. Lastly, you need to adjust the mowing height so that it would be suitable for the growing conditions.

Mowers

There are two summer lawn care tips you need to do during mowing season. You need to keep it sharp and you need to keep it clean. In case the grass is damp or lush, it could easily develop inside the mower so be sure to give your equipment a good scraping, brushing, and hosing down after you use it. The next thing to do if you mow a lot is to be ready to swap or sharpen the blades in the middle of the year to keep it clean cut.

Fertilizing the Lawn

In case this is your first application of the year, you should use a two to three month slow release spring and summer fertilizer. It comes with a good grass safety and would last until autumn. In case you’ve made an application during spring of the same fertilizer, you have to consider applying the fertilizer now. You can use a liquid fertilizer every four to six weeks because it gives you more control especially if you’re a lawn enthusiast. Timing will be based on what and when you applied before, the rainfall, as well as its recent growth. In case soil moisture is present and the growth has declined with a bit of color loss then you should apply now so that the colour, looks, and health are maintained.

Weed Control

Weeds are well on their way now so that is the perfect time to apply weed killer throughout your lawn whether by watering can or by knapsack sprayer if you haven’t done yet. If you are using a watering can, you should try out the weed and feed sprinkle bar if you want a more accurate and faster application.

If you have been diligent with your weed control routine and you’ve noticed few weeds appear then you should spot treat individual weeds or apply a ready to use weed killer. You can also get rid of large weeds manually.

 

Call Conner’s Lawn Care Service now if you need help in maintaining your lawn not only during summer but throughout the year.

 

Conner’s Lawn Care Service
Myrtle Beach, SC
843-504-4901
http://connerslawncare.com/